Bring wads of cash if you want one of these off-road rigs.
Most people are familiar with the FJ series of machines being meticulously cranked out by ICON. The concept for these machines was born in response to the direction in which Ward had seen the collector market heading. As demands and expectations on classic cars grew, so did the desire for modern performance injected with original styling cues. Such is the level of dedication to retaining the original look that the casual observer often has to look very closely at an ICON creation before realizing that, yes, every panel has been lovingly and meticulously crafted and recreated.
In addition to the FJ line, which are available fitted with either a 430hp V8 or a torquey 2.8L inline-four Cummins, ICON manages the building of one-off models they’ve built for various purposes and now in the possession of a lucky few.
This 1965 Dodge D200 was an originally an ex-Air Force truck which was fused with a modern Ram Mega Cab 4×4. They worked with Gale Banks (yes, that Gale Banks) to get a reliable 975lb.-ft of torque out of the Cummins Turbo Diesel, nearly cracking the four-figure mark long before Ram itself ever did. The builders used the original Dodge D200 body shell, seat frames, and door handles. Everything else was redesigned. What you see here is the result of such lunacy, and about two years work. It is glorious.
Also listed on the ICON site are the likes of a ’61 Dodge Long Bed and 1970 Land Rover Series IIA in the company’s “available projects” portfolio. There’s also a heavily patina’d FJ40 ripe for restoration – or, plug in new mechanicals and leave it rough. The owner would probably get more attention that way, as you can’t replicate true patina.
Sitting on the polar opposite end of the off-road shelf but no less cool is a pure-electric VW Thing. No, it might not make it through the Rubicon but it would look fantastic crawling along some dunes or on the beach. It’s 90ish-mile range is nothing to write home about but it’s more than enough to get you to the rad surf shop and back, dude.
What’s your favorite ICON build? To paraphrase an old potato chip slogan, it’s hard to pick just one.
[images: ICON]